Clinton says she'll clean up after Bush dynasty

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former First Lady Hillary Clinton addressed the question of political dynasties on Thursday with a one-liner that she hoped would allay concerns over two families dominating the White House for decades if she becomes president next year.

Clinton, a Democratic senator from New York, said she would "clean up" after Republican President George W. Bush just as her husband, Bill Clinton, had done after the presidency of Bush's namesake father.

"It did take a Clinton to clean (up) after the first Bush, and I think it might take a second one to clean up after the second Bush," she said to applause at a televised debate with Democratic rival Barack Obama, a senator from Illinois.

The senior George Bush was vice president under Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989, and president for four years thereafter. Bill Clinton served as president from 1993 to 2001, after which George W. Bush began the first of his two four-year terms.

Obama gained the support of a different political dynasty earlier this week with the endorsement of Sen. Ted Kennedy, the brother of slain President John F. Kennedy, and the former president's daughter, Caroline.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason, editing by Philip Barbara)